Dedicated to New Jersey's Children, Wildlife and the Habitats They Share

11/13/2017

Hello,

I’d like to take a few minutes to share with you a WILD success story from one of our
region’s most impactful nonprofits. Since 1957, Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife
Refuge, (Cedar Run), has been dedicated to New Jersey’s children, wildlife and
the habitats they share. In the 60 years since our founding, Cedar Run has
become NJ’s busiest wildlife care facility. This year, Cedar Run took in and
cared for 4,996 injured, orphaned or displaced wild animals, which equals 26%
of all wildlife cared for throughout the entire state of New Jersey. As you can
imagine, this work takes great effort, dedicated people and diverse resources.
In addition, our work with NJ’s schools, scouts, youth groups and the general
public is award winning and crucial to our communities. This work matters, we
save lives and change lives every day, and it is only through the support of partners and members like you that it
continues to be possible. Thanks!

Every day we work hard to make our communities better for
all of us, including the wildlife that live here too. It is only through
your support that we can provide these much needed services. I’d like to
share one success story that sums up our work and illustrates how important
your support is:

She was brought to Cedar Run the last week of May. She was very
young, and had been hit by a car while trying to follow her mother across a
street. On the initial exam our staff and volunteers found a severe laceration
on her rear right leg, and her left rear leg was broken. The young fawn
couldn’t walk or stand, she was scared and in pain. A trip to Animal & Bird
Health Care Center for X-rays confirmed a closed fracture on her rear left leg.
She was cleaned, multiple sutures were applied, and a cast was set on her leg.
She was going to need a lot of care for several months in order to heal enough
to go back out to the wild.

The cast would have
to stay in place for eight weeks and it would have to be checked several times
during the day to make sure it was not getting too small as she grew. She was
given antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and pain medications. It was going to be a
long road for all of us, all while doing everything we could to keep her from
becoming attached to us and habituated to human activity. We kept her inside
for direct care for several weeks and placed her with another fawn, to keep her
wild, but safe while she healed. She and the other fawn were bottle fed several
times a day, all without seeing our faces. It was not easy, it never is, but it
is the only way to give them their best chance at staying wild and being free.

Finally, after eight weeks, the cast was removed and she was
moved into the large pen with the rest of the fawns under our care. Since the
two fawns had been housed together, the transition went smoothly. By this time
all of the fawns were off the bottles and onto what we call wild foods, such as
sassafras leaves, grasses and berries. We do all we can to ensure they know how
to care for themselves before they are released. It is time and resource intensive, but it has to be done right to give
them the best chance at survival. After more than three months and a final
check up, she was ready. She was released with the other fawns on September 9th.
We did all we could, it’s exhausting work, but the hardest part was up to her,
and she came through. It was her spirit and strength that let her run wild,
once again.

While we are jubilant with
each successful wildlife release we bring to fruition, we know this work brings
unique challenges. Each of the thousands of animals brought to us every year
have a story. We serve as their collective voice, their caretakers, and
their surrogate parents when need be. But we cannot do this without you.
This work is challenging, and rewarding, but also expensive and draining. We
are not funded by Federal, State or local tax dollars in any way. We are 100%
funded by our supporters, like you.

Will you help us continue
helping them? Every donation matters. The animals under our care depend
on folks like you, those with a heart and who support our mission. Every animal
brought to us comes with costs. Without our hospital, most would die.

Did you know the average cost
to care for one fawn is $420 in medications, food and other needs? Fawns, like
the one in this story, are with us for an average of 17 weeks and we can care
for up to 15 fawns each year. We care
for far more than just fawns. We can see up to 140 different species in a year,
anything from songbirds to raptors. These are real costs and they add up. Your
donations keep us open and ready to care for the next wild animal in need.

The greatest impact your gift could have is via a
recurring gift each month, for
example: